Likely Accusations
by SaraBeth
Summary: There is a murderer lurking, in both Lily's muggle neighborhood and at Hogwarts. Lily is positive that she knows who it is, but there's not a single person who will listen, not even her best friends. Lily will do anything to prove that she is right.
1. Chapter 1

LIKELY ACCUSATIONS  
  
Disclaimer: (for the sake of stating the painstakingly obvious!) I am not J.K. Rowling, I own absolutely nothing from this story, and I am not trying to take credit for any of it.   
  
Author's notes: Well, I'll try to keep this short. I have been wanting to write a story about Lily for a long time, and finally about six months ago I started this one. It's finished and fairly long, though nothing in comparison to My Name Is Remus Lupin (which I plan to never so much as look at ever again!!!) I don't really like the title I picked... maybe I'll change it if I get ambitious or something...(not likely!) Well, here's the story... maybe it will hold you over until Saturday =) (ha, probably not..) Well, this story is different, I can promise you that much... other than that... well, you'll have to read and see. Oh, and don't forget to review if you like it... or it you don't. =)  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Lily Emeraude Evans! Get down here RIGHT NOW!" Lily winced at her sister's shrill shriek and reluctantly put down her paintbrush on the easel where the canvas she'd been painting was resting.   
  
"Coming," she called, heading for the staircase. "What do you want, Petunia?" she asked calmly, entering the tiny kitchen.   
  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to put the good china in the same cupboard as the regular plates?" Petunia demanded, motioning to the open cupboard, filled with mismatched dishes.   
  
"Like it matters," muttered Lily coldly.   
  
"You don't talk to me like that, you little freak!" Petunia shouted.   
  
"Gosh, Petunia, they're dishes. Since when do you care? I'd have thought that by this time of day you'd be off with your beloved Vernon and his normal family!" Lily glared icily.   
  
"I would have left by now if it hadn't been for your weird way of putting the dishes away. You can't even do simple things normal!"  
  
"You don't even know what NORMAL is!" bellowed Lily.  
  
"And I suppose you do," breathed Petunia. "I suppose you, with your ugly red hair and huge green bug eyes, and your ridiculous freak clothes, I suppose you know what normal is!"   
  
"For your information, dear intelligent sister." Lily's voice dripped with sarcasm. "This is a nice, normal, artist smock." She motioned to the large white shirt she was wearing.   
  
"Well, I suppose if I were as fat as you, I'd have to wear my clothes that big as well to hide it," Petunia said haughtily. Lily had held her calm for as long as possible, but now she could feel the anger building up inside her. She stared at her sister, silently, her green eyes wide, penetrating. Petunia remained silent, and slowly a look of fear overtook her bony face. Lily eyed the china plate in her hand, and willed it to fall.   
  
A second later, it shattered to the floor. Petunia shrieked in horror.   
  
"You! You did that! You little freak! I'll get you for this!" Petunia lunged forward, and Lily prepared to run, but they both froze mid-step as they heard the front door open.  
  
"Girls?" A calm male voice spoke.   
  
"Yes daddy?" asked Petunia sweetly.  
  
"What's going on in here? I could hear you two from the street." Patrick Evans entered the kitchen and sat his briefcase on a chair, looking weary.  
  
"Nothing of any great worry, Dad. Petunia's just been dropping china again," said Lily quickly, before retreating to the stairs, leaving her sister silent, mouth open in shock, too frightened to protest.   
  
In the safety of her own bedroom, Lily let out a small laugh. She'd won the battle again. That was likely to keep Petunia off her back for at least an hour or so. But she couldn't help herself from stealing her usual glance in the mirror. Frowning in disgust with what she saw, she quickly glanced away and eyed a bag of chocolates sitting on her desk. She marched over and tossed them lightly out her window.   
  
"Ouch!" a male voice called from down in the street. "Oh, wow, free chocolate!" Lily knew who it had to be. She stuck her head out the window.  
  
"Chris!" she scolded. "You're not supposed to eat that!"  
  
"Why?" The skinny blonde-haired freckly boy called, through a mouthful of sticky chocolate.   
  
"I was trying to get rid of it!" called Lily.  
  
"I'll never understand you, Lee. Getting rid of perfectly good chocolate. Honestly!" He licked his fingers.  
  
"I'll never understand why you decided to just stand there in my front yard!" Lily yelled back, grinning.  
  
"I wasn't just standing there. I was coming to visit you! Until you tried to kill me by bombarding me with chocolate!"   
  
"Oh, quit exaggerating and get up here!" Lily shouted cheerfully.   
  
A moment later, Chris burst through her bedroom door.   
  
"Hi, Lee! How great to see you on this wonderful day!" His over-exaggerated shout was accompanied by a cheesy grin. Lily's muggle friends insisted on calling her Lee for as long as she could remember, ever since they figured out that's what her initials spelled.   
  
"Hi Chris," said Lily, raising her eyebrows skeptically.  
  
"So, judging by the death glare Petunia gave me on the way up, I'm guessing you two had a fight."  
  
"You guessed right," sighed Lily.  
  
"Plus I kind of heard you from across the street, in my bedroom, with the door closed, while playing my guitar." Lily laughed.  
  
"Yes, well, you'd yell at her too if she was your sister."  
  
"Are you kidding? I'd yell at her anyway. Now, what happened this time? Let me guess, she called you fat, and that's why you threw chocolate out your window."  
  
"Yep," said Lily.  
  
"I am just too good at this!" said Chris, flopping down on Lily's bed. "So, you actually listen to that ugly horse-faced, bony, fake blonde freak when she calls you fat? Lee, I'm ashamed of you!"  
  
"Oh, come off it Chris. You know it's true." Lily haphazardly flung globs of blue paint onto the sky of her painting, in an effort to look busy so she wouldn't have to turn around and face him. "Petunia's prettier than I'll ever be." Chris snorted.  
  
"Don't make me laugh, Lee. If you're telling me you'd rather look like a half-dead, starving horse than yourself, I just might have to agree with Petunia in calling you a freak." Lily let out a small laugh without meaning to. Then she grabbed a pillow and shoved it in Chris' face.  
  
"Easy, easy, don't mess up the hair!"   
  
"Don't worry, with the amount of gel you put in it, it'd take a lot more than a pillow to mess it up."  
  
"But Lauren likes it like this," Chris whined, pretending to be hurt. Lily rolled her eyes. She, Chris and Lauren had been best friends since childhood, but it was only recently that he and Lauren started dating.  
  
"She would. Have you heard from her lately?"  
  
"Yeah, she'll be back next Tuesday."  
  
"I wonder if she's having a good time in France," said Lily.  
  
"Yeah, she is," said Chris. "She told me about it enough."  
  
"So she wrote to you everyday and couldn't write to me once?" Lily pretended to be offended. "And she calls me her best friend!"  
  
"Ha, ha, she loves me more!" laughed Chris.  
  
"Well, I should hope so," said Lily. "Although I don't see how." Lily raised her eyebrows at Chris, who was now making faces in her crystal ball. She sighed loudly. "Stop that!"  
  
"Just because I'm not a witch doesn't mean I can't look in a crystal ball!" Chris pretended to be offended.  
  
"Uh, technically, you'd be a wizard, not a witch." Lily giggled.   
  
"Am I not allowed to have a feminine side?" Chris sounded hurt.   
  
"Never," said Lily. "And I'm sure Lauren agrees with me."  
  
"So, Lauren was telling me just the other day in a letter that you have a thing for this Jimmy boy," Chris inquired.  
  
"Jimmy boy?" Lily was puzzled. "I don't know who… you mean James?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah that's it. Jimmy boy." Lily shook her head.  
  
"Since when do you care about this sort of thing?" she asked.  
  
"Since my two best friends are girls and never shut up about it. You can't expect me not to participate! Like this. Lee loves Jimmy-boy!" Chris sang loudly in a fairly convincing American southern accent.   
  
"Stop calling him Jimmy-boy!" cried Lily. "You make him sound like a Yank from West Virginia! And I certainly do not love him!"  
  
"That's not what I heard," taunted Chris. Lily shook her head.  
  
"You are seriously a disgrace to society, Christian Aubrey!"  
  
"Why thank you for the compliment, Lee," said Chris. "You've just increased my self esteem!"  
  
"Oh like you need it. You've got a bigger ego than anyone I know," Lily teased.  
  
"Well, it's just that I'm so charming and funny, not to mention incredibly good-looking!" Chris grinned at his reflection in her mirror.  
  
"Oh no, Lauren's brainwashed you!" Lily laughed.  
  
"So, got any pictures of Jimmy-boy? I want to see if he's worthy of my Lee."  
  
"As a matter of fact, I don't. I don't really like him that much anyway…"  
  
"Lily, dinner!" Mrs. Evans called up the stairs.  
  
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go eat," said Lily smugly, glad to change the subject.  
  
"And get fat," Chris added jokingly. Lily hit him on the arm.   
  
"Ouch!" he whined.  
  
"Lily, is someone else up there?" asked Mrs. Evans.  
  
"Yeah mum, Chris is here," said Lily.  
  
"Hi Chris," said Mrs. Evans as he and Lily descended the stairs.  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Evans," said Chris, polite for the first time since he'd entered their house.  
  
"How've you been, dear?" asked Mrs. Evans.  
  
"Good, good, and you?"  
  
"Fine. Staying out of trouble, I hope?"  
  
"Of course!" said Chris with a very unconvincing grin.   
  
"Would you like to join us for dinner?"   
  
"Oh, no thanks. Mum said if I'm not back by six tonight she'll lock me in the basement until next Christmas."  
  
"Then I suggest you run," said Mrs. Evans. "And tell your mum I said hi, and I'll be over to see her sometime soon."  
  
"Alright. Bye Mrs. Evans. Bye Lee!" Lily pushed the door closed. Mrs. Evans shook her head.  
  
"I still can't believe sweet little Lauren dates that boy."   
  
"He's not all that bad, mum," said Lily. "Just a bit… well, off." Mrs. Evans chuckled as they sat down to have dinner. Lily noticed, to her content, that Petunia wasn't seated at the table.  
  
"Petunia's not here?" she asked, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.  
  
"No, she's out with Vernon." Lily couldn't help noticing that Mr. Evans winced a bit as he said his name.   
  
"I suppose she finds him nice and normal," said Lily, hinting at sarcasm.  
  
"Lily, I know Petunia can upset you sometimes. But I really wish you'd try to get along with her. You two are so horrible to each other lately. Certainly you're both very different, but you're sisters. That should count for something, shouldn't it? I really think Petunia will grow out of her normal stage eventually," Mrs. Evans said. Lily snorted into her glass. Petunia outgrowing normal; that was like saying the sky would outgrow being blue. It'd just never happen. Mr. Evans cleared his throat loudly.  
  
"Lily, Petunia tells me you used magic earlier to make her break a china plate. Now you know your school has strict rules about magic use in the summer."  
  
"I didn't use any magic, Dad. My wand's been up in my trunk since the start of break. Petunia probably just wanted an excuse for slipping up and dropping the plate." She wasn't exactly lying, Lily reasoned. She hadn't actually used any spells, and her wand had been locked up all summer. Mr. Evans nodded, not looking completely certain that he believed her.  
  
"You've only got a week and a half until term starts," said Mrs. Evans. "We'd better be making our way up to Diagon Street soon to get your supplies."  
  
"Diagon Alley, mum," Lily corrected. "And Chris has been pestering me about coming along. He still doesn't believe it exists."  
  
"I don't think bringing Chris is a very good idea, dear," said Mrs. Evans with a slight frown.   
  
"I know," said Lily. "I already told him that, about twenty times at least."  
  
"Somehow, I think it's for the better that that boy didn't end up being a wizard," said Mr. Evans. Lily and her mother both nodded in agreement. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lily awoke early the next Monday morning, ready to do her Hogwarts shopping. There was only a week of summer vacation left. The following Monday she'd be boarding the Hogwarts Express for the journey back to school. She'd certainly miss her muggle friends and the muggle world, but there was something about Hogwarts Castle that made Lily feel like that was where she truly belonged. 

"So, Petunia," said Lily, as they were eating breakfast. "Care to join us today? We're going to Diagon Alley." She enjoyed the look of disgust and horror that quickly overtook her sister's face.

"I'm going to visit Vernon's family." She stood, spun around, and with a flounce of her stiff blonde hair, headed for the back door. 

"Won't you at least finish breakfast, Petunia dear?" asked Mrs. Evans, sitting mugs of steaming hot tea onto the table.

"I would, mother, but looking at that freak made me suddenly lose my appetite." She left quickly, slamming the door behind her.

"Oh, Lily, don't take it so personally," said Mrs. Evans, noticing the frown that had appeared on Lily's face. "She's been treating everyone that way lately. It's just a stage."

"And it's not as though you don't antagonize her," added Mr. Evans, raising his eyebrows at her. Lily was used to her parents never taking her side on her battles with Petunia, and tried very hard not to get angry. After all, she did need to get to Diagon Alley to buy supplies.

Several hours later, the Evans family, minus Petunia, trudged down the street, rain pouring, heading for the tiny black door which was the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, through which they would get to Diagon Alley. 

Several hours later, the pub's regulars saw the same red-head witch and two middle aged muggles head back out through the very same door, this time, arms full of packages. They headed for their car, an old blue Ford Anglia, and placed Lily's new things in the trunk, all except for one.

Lily climbed into the back seat, and sat a small cage next to her. Inside was a tiny, snow white owl, which her parents had unexpectedly bought for her. She decided to call him Esprit, the French word for spirit, because he seemed very lively and spirited, judging by the way he flew back and forth in his cage. 

"Well, I think we did pretty well with your shopping this year, Lil," said Mrs. Evans. "Your father and I are very grateful that you didn't mind buying those used books this year."

"They're fine. I mean, a book's a book." Lily tried to forget the tattered state of her _Intermediate Transfigurations_ book, which was practically losing its cover. _Perhaps I can transfigure it into a new book_, she thought. 

"Money's a little tight this year, even more than usual," Mr. Evans sighed, pulling out into the street. The car sputtered. "And this old thing isn't going to hold up much longer, I'm afraid." He patted the dashboard. "We'll be okay though."

"You shouldn't have bought this owl for me," said Lily, feeling guilty.

"Nonsense, dear. You deserve it. Things aren't that terrible." Mrs. Evans smiled at her daughter. 

The next day was Tuesday, which meant Lauren was supposed to be back. Lily woke up early to the sound of Esprit squawking loudly in his cage. He was quite annoying at times, Lily was finding. She got ready and walked across the street to Chris's house. They were planning to already be at Lauren's house when she arrived. 

"Lee!" Chris shouted from his front porch, throwing up his hands enthusiastically. 

"Chris!" Lily returned, mocking his enthusiasm, so he sulked. 

"Oh cheer up, you! Lauren's coming!" Lily ran up the front steps. She froze. "Christian Aubrey, WHAT are you wearing?" Chris had traded in his typical jeans and t shirt for a blue and white checkered shirt, and bright orange bell-bottoms. 

"What?" Chris asked stupidly. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Chris looked down self-consciously at the bright red shoes barely sticking out from the bottom of his pants. "It's the shoes isn't it? I knew I should have gone with green!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"You look fine," she said to make him calm down. "Now let's get going. If we don't get to Lauren's soon, she'll be there before we get back. They walked around the corner and four houses down to a dainty Tudor house, and seated themselves on two rockers on the front porch.

"No, we wait," said Chris. "Oh, and I almost forgot!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lime green bow tie. Lily snatched it quickly.

"Trust me, don't." Chris pouted, and Lily tossed the tie into a bush. 

"Chris, did Lauren tell you what time she was getting back?" Lily asked.

"Uh, no… but she said sometime Tuesday. At least, I think she said Tuesday. Or maybe it was Thursday…" They heard a familiar giggle from behind them, and both turned around.

"Lauren?" said Lily, as her grinning, blonde friend stepped out of the front door. 

"Hey mates!" she said cheerfully. "I told you I was getting back Monday night, Chris. I've been here all night." She laughed. "What ARE you wearing?" Lily fell into a fit of hysterical laughter. 

"You don't like it?" asked Chris.

"I love it!" cried Lauren. "It's great!" She threw her arms around him, Lily still laughing hysterically. 

"And Lee, how are you girl?" Lauren turned to her best friend.

"Great, and you? I mean I'd really know, seeing that you wrote me _so_ often," Lily taunted.

"I'm sorry! It's just that I was so busy!" said Lauren. "France was so cool! And we saw the Eiffel Tower, and that museum place that used to be where the kings lived…"

"The Louvre?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, that's it!" said Lauren. "I'm getting the pictures developed. I can't wait to show you! So, how's stuff been here?"

"Well, the other day, Lily threw chocolate out her window, and I was fortunate enough to get hit on the head by it," Chris explained.

"Okay then," said Lauren, looking slightly puzzled. "So, when does term start for you, Lee?" 

"Next Monday," Lily replied.

"Aw, really? We've got two more weeks! I'm hardly going to get to see you at all! And you never come home for holiday breaks!" 

"I can't help it. If you had Petunia for a sister you wouldn't come either!" Lily defended herself.

"True," said Lauren. "We visited Steve in Nice. He's doing pretty well."

"That's good," said Lily. Steve was Lauren's older brother, who was an aspiring author, looking to be inspired. 

"So, you mates up for some breakfast? I thought we could go down to the café on the corner," suggested Chris. Lily and Lauren exchanged glances.

"Under one condition," said Lauren. 

"What?" asked Chris.

"That you change those clothes!" shouted Lauren and Lily together, laughing. 

"Oh fine, you win!" Chris threw his arms up in defeat. "I'll be right back." He jumped the porch railing, got his foot caught in a bush, and fell flat on the ground. 

"Serves you right!" cried Lily between fits of laughter. He stood up and began to run home. 

"It was all you, Lee! You and your freak magic!" he screeched, mocking Petunia. "And I'll get you for it! You just wait!" Lily shook her head.

"Sometimes I swear he's crazy." 

"I know, isn't he great?" asked Lauren, grinning. Lily refused to respond. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Several days passed by, and Lily had been spending most of her time with Lauren and Chris, except when they wanted to be alone. It still struck her as odd that the two of them were a couple.

Friday night, she got back late from seeing a movie with Lauren and Chris. It had been quite a bit of fun to watch Chris throw popcorn at the old people sitting in front of them, though Lauren and Lily both scolded him about it. Lily entered her room to find Esprit making a terrible racket. She let the tiny owl out of its cage, and it flew off into the night. 

Sunday morning, Lily awoke early. She sighed as she climbed from her bed. _The last day of summer vacation; I should make the best of it_, she thought. The sun was just beginning to peek out from behind the trees, but Lily could tell it was going to be a beautiful day, and there was plenty to do. She had to pack, clean her room, and say her farewells to Chris and Lauren for the year. She was just pulling out a pair of jeans when a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. Lily paused and listened closely. There it was again. Someone was shrieking and crying; and it sounded like it was coming from the street. Lily darted from her room without a second thought. Several seconds later, she yanked open the front door, certain she recognized the screaming voice. 

"Lauren!" Lily shouted. Her friend was collapsed in the street crying hysterically. Then Lily noticed a second body lying next to her. Lauren continued screaming, not acknowledging Lily, who ran over to her.

She immediately felt sick to her stomach. The second body was one she recognized as Chris, only soaked with blood, his eyes still half open, though life had left him. 

"Oh my God," Lily breathed, her eyes tearing. "It's alright, Lauren. Come on." She tried to help her best friend up. At once, Lauren leapt to her feet.

"You!" she shrieked, pointing at Lily. "It was you! You did this to him!" 

"Lauren, calm down, I did not," Lily's voice quivered. 

"I should kill you!" Lauren shouted, flinging herself at Lily, who struggled to keep her balance, as Lauren flailed her arms trying to hit Lily's face. "I should kill you!" One of her hands latched onto a clump of Lily's hair and yanked. 

"Knock it off, Lauren, I didn't do anything!" Lily was in a state of complete shock. Lauren's ice blue eyes penetrated into her as she glared. "Now tell me what really happened!"

"You should die! I'll kill you!" Lauren swung and just missed Lily's right eye. Lily tried desperately to get her arms around the flailing girl and make her calm down.

"Girls!" a harsh voice called. Lily glanced back. It was Mr. Evans, running towards them.

"Dad, help!" Lily shouted desperately. Lauren went completely limp and collapsed onto Lily's arms, unconscious. Lily lowered her body to the ground, trembling.

"What happened?" demanded Mr. Evans, looking at the bodies sprawled on the ground. "He—he's dead! The Aubrey boy's dead! Lily, what do you know of this?" His voice was sharp, harsh. Lily burst into tears.

"Daddy," she cried, rubbing her eyes. "I—I don't know. Lauren said I did it. I don't know why she would think that." Lily sobbed. 

"Come on, dear," her father, never the affectionate type, put his arm around her and directed her to the house. One by one, neighbors began to step out of their houses to see what had caused the commotion in the street.

Lily sat on a chair in the living room, in a state of complete and utter shock. She wasn't crying anymore, just then, but her green eyes were wide and alert, her face pale. In the background, the sounds of telephone calls and ambulances seemed a blur. Lily heard it, but nothing was clear, she couldn't even make her own mind think clearly. Words and phrases flooded her thinking, but she was unable to put them together. _Chris, dead, Lauren, me, my fault…_

"Lily?" she recognized the calm, soothing voice of her mother, though she was unable to respond. "Hi sweetheart." Mrs. Evans sat down next to her, placing an arm around her youngest daughter's shoulder. "Would you like to talk." _No, _thought Lily. _No talking. Too late. My fault. _She couldn't respond. 

"Oh, my baby," Mrs. Evans embraced her. "My baby." She stroked her long red curls gently, and slowly the shock began to fade away from Lily, replaced by a flooding of uncontrollable tears.

After what felt like hours later, Lily had no tears left to cry. She drew in deep, trembling breaths, trying to calm herself. Everything still felt so unreal. Chris dead, and Lauren blaming her. It seemed easier to think about it all now though. Mrs. Evans let her to herself. She tried to rerun the morning's events over in her mind, but it wasn't there. She could only see Chris' dead body; only hear Lauren's words _You did this! I should kill you!_ But why did Lauren think that? How could she accuse Lily? And what had really happened to Chris? There'd been a lot of blood, coming from his chest. Probably a gunshot wound, Lily figured. But that didn't help matters at all. _Maybe Lauren was just really upset, and since I was the first person to come along she felt the need to blame me,_ reasoned Lily. After all, it was an enormous shock. But sweet little Lauren screaming at the top of her lungs that she was going to kill someone. It didn't seem like her at all.

Lily suddenly felt compelled to go see Lauren; to confront her. She needed answers. She glanced out the window. Police cars and ambulances surrounded the entire area. The street was completely blocked off. There was no way she was going to leave the house unnoticed. Unless…

Lily slipped out the back door. There were the woods; the back of Lauren's house was just on the other side. If she could just get through without being seen! She drew in a deep breath, and all at once began to sprint. A minute later she reached the other side, breathing a sigh of relief. It was only about fifteen yards to the back of Lauren's house, but Lily noticed there was a police car parked out front. There was lattice on the back side of the house, for ivy to climb on. Maybe she could reach Lauren's window, Lily reasoned. It was worth a try. She cautiously made her way to the house and carefully, she began to push herself up from the ground. _Please be in your room, Lauren,_ she thought. _I have got to talk to you. _She climbed higher, willing herself not to look down. Lily had always been afraid of heights. At last she reached the second story window. Steadying herself, she carefully slid the window open, put one foot inside, then the other. When she stepped down, she heard something crinkle under her foot. Glancing down, she picked it up. Scrawled in untidy handwriting, as though the writer had been having a fight with the pen, were the words **I don't want to die! **The paper was covered with nothing but this phrase. Lily, getting an extremely strange feeling, glanced up into the room, and only then did she notice for the first time what had been in the center of the room all along. 

The noose was tied from the light on the ceiling, and a stool was knocked over underneath. Lauren's body hung limply, her neck at a peculiar angle, just enough light entering the room that Lily could see her half-open eyes, empty and lifeless, like glass. Her face distorted, twisted with a look of terror, so that she was hardly recognizable as Lauren, except for those eyes. Lily wanted to scream, wanted to cry out, wanted to run away. But she was frozen there. Frozen there to look at the lifeless body of her friend who had ended her own life. 

Trembling all from head to toe, Lily gained the sudden impulse to leave. The sickening image of Lauren's lifeless, pale body, suspended in midair, rotating back and forth just slightly so that the light reflected from her eyes, seemed to be permanently imprinted in her mind. She quickly climbed out of the window and down the boards, shaking so badly she could hardly keep her grip. Halfway down, her fingers slipped and she plummeted backwards until she hit the ground with a thud. 

After a few seconds she was able to breathe again, and conclude that she wasn't injured; not seriously, in any case. She brought herself to her feet, and sheer adrenaline carried her back to the safety of her own house. She slipped in the back door, feeling completely miserable.

She'd just discovered the body of her dead best friend. She knew she should tell someone, but she couldn't. Couldn't talk to them, couldn't form the right words. Her mind was so confused. Everything was mixed up, wrong. She headed for her bedroom, her knees so weak she could hardly ascend the stairs. She walked in, closing the door behind her, and sat down on her bed. She curled herself up, crossing her arms, and rocked back and forth nervously, shivering, though sweat poured from her body. She sobbed, thinking of all that had happened, feeling as though she was responsible, and wondering how long it would be until someone found Lauren. It was only then that she realized what she still held in her hand.

Looking down, she saw the words, handwriting not at all like Lauren's, as though she'd been fighting someone else with those words, **I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! **Lily swore she could hear her screaming voice. It grew, louder, louder. _You did this! I should kill you! I don't want to die! _Lily tore the paper to shreds, then tore the shreds into shreds and scattered the whole mess onto the floor, sobbing. She closed her eyes, trying to forget everything, but all she could see was Lauren's dead body hanging in the darkness; and those eyes. 

She sat for hours, concentrating on nothing but keeping her mind blank. Someone knocked on her door.

"Lily, may I come in?" It was her mother. Lily didn't answer. A second later the knob turned anyway. "I need to talk to you about something, dear." Lily looked up. Mrs. Evans seated herself on the bed.

"I just received a telephone call, Lily. I'm not quite sure how to tell you this. You're friend Lauren; she was found dead just a little while ago." Lily's reaction was nothing. She didn't even move, just kept her eyes focused on the same spot on the wall. "I know this is hard for you baby," her mother whispered. "It's hard for all of us. No one knows what's going on. It's okay to cry though, and it's okay to talk. You shouldn't keep this all inside you." Mrs. Evans herself was crying, but Lily could not. "Don't worry about going back to school. We'll write to the headmaster and explain that you'll be late."

"I want to go," said Lily, not even realizing that she said it. Her mother looked surprised.

"You're sure you want to go? I don't think it's the best idea."

"I want to go," Lily repeated, in an even, monotone voice. 

"Alright then, dear. I guess I'll take you tomorrow morning. Why don't you try to get some rest? If you're hungry, I'll make you something to eat." Lily shook her head, and Mrs. Evans left the room. Lily packed the rest of her trunk thoughtlessly, then crawled between the sheets of her bed. Maybe she could at least get some rest. But she soon concluded that she couldn't close her eyes without seeing one of their dead bodies. Suddenly, a loud squawking noise filled the room, and Esprit came flying through her open window. She groaned and let the bird back into its cage. 

All night from her window she could see the lights of the police cars. They were patrolling the area with high security trying to find any evidence for the murders. Lily rested awake, staring at the ceiling, or out the window, afraid to close her eyes, though they burned and stung. 

She saw the sun begin to rise.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lily rose from bed, not feeling tired in the least, collected up her clothes, showered and dressed, and headed downstairs. She found her father seated at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. She spotted the headline. _Two teen deaths; one believed homicide, the other suicide_. So, she hadn't imagined it. Her father didn't acknowledge her entrance. She could hear a conversation taking place in the living room.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not going to allow her to answer any questions right now. She's hardly talking at all. They were her two best friends; this is very hard on her." Mrs. Evans spoke.

"I understand that ma'am, but her information might give us a lead to where we can find more evidence. We want to do everything we can to insure that this doesn't happen again." A male voice sounded impatient.

"I know you're doing a lot of investigating, but now is not the time. The whole ordeal just took place a day ago. Lily's in no state to begin talking about it, and she won't be for a while. Besides, she's leaving town today for school." Mrs. Evans sounded annoyed. Lily, realizing the conversation was about her, tiptoed back upstairs. 

From her bedroom window, she could see Chris's house. Now, there were two police cars parked in front. Without realizing it, Lily began to shake and tremble again, her head pounding. She felt so weak; she just needed to lie down…

"Lily. Lily!" Lily's eyes flickered open. A blurred vision of both of her parents slowly came into focus.

"Lily, you collapsed," said her father, frowning. 

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" asked her mom. Lily moaned and closed her eyes. "Come on, I made you some breakfast. Up you go." Lily's mom slipped her arm around her daughter, and led her toward the kitchen. Lily sat down in front of a large plate of sausages, eggs, and toast. It smelled wonderful, but she could hardly eat a bite. It was hard enough work keeping the food on the fork long enough to get it to her mouth, because her hands were shaking so badly. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and noticed the time.

"We've got to leave soon," she said quietly. 

"Oh, Lily, you can't possibly still be considering leaving for school today in your state. You don't look fit to be out of bed, much less at school," scolded her father. 

"I want to go," said Lily, ignoring him.

"Maybe it would help her keep her mind off of it all if she could get away, Patrick," suggested Mrs. Evans. He didn't reply. 

Lily left the table, having scarcely eaten a bite. Returning upstairs, she collected up her trunk and her owl, and pulled on her grey overcoat. She was so cold! She carefully rolled her trunk down the stairs, trying not to make too much noise. 

"Lily! Keep that racket down! Don't you know some of us normal people are trying to get some sleep!" Petunia screeched from the top of the stairs. "Honestly, everyone has been hysteric about you and your little friends. I'll bet you really did get them killed!"

"That's not true!" bellowed Lily, letting go of her trunk, which rolled down the remaining stairs, crashing to a halt at the bottom. She chased after her sister, who, frozen in shock, made no attempt to defend herself as Lily knocked her to the ground, punching and kicking as she screamed. 

"Lily!" Mrs. Evans' voice rang from downstairs. "Stop that right now!" She rushed to separate the two of them. Lily sobbed, and Petunia raged. A large bruise was already starting to form over her left eye, and her voice screeched endlessly about how Lily should be locked up for being a freak. Mrs. Evans led Lily back down the stairs, allowing her to cry on her shoulder. 

"Can we leave now, mum?" Lily asked. Mrs. Evans sighed.

"Sure, we can," she said quietly. Lily said goodbye to her father, who was not pleased to find that she was still leaving. She didn't bother with Petunia, who had retreated to her bedroom to rant to herself about the injustice of her life. 

Several minutes later, Lily was in the passenger seat of their car, Mrs. Evans behind the wheel, her trunk packed in the back seat. 

"You're sure you still want to go to school?" Lily nodded. "Then we've got a train to catch," said Mrs. Evans with a bit of a smile, pressing down harder on the accelerator.

They reached the train station at 10:45. Lily unloaded her belongings and wheeled them to the platform. 

"I want you to write as often as you can," said Mrs. Evans, squeezing Lily's hand. "And if you ever feel that you need to come home, don't hesitate to tell someone; I'm sure it can be arranged. Would you—would you like to come back for their funerals this weekend?" Lily shook her head. That would be too much for her. Mrs. Evans sighed. "You don't look well. Remember, it's okay to cry if you need to. Maybe there's someone you can talk to?" Lily nodded, without having any particular person in mind. "Good. Then I'll see you, dear." Lily hugged her mother tightly. "Oh, I miss you so much when you're away," sighed Mrs. Evans.

"I miss you too, Mum." Lily released her mother, and headed for the barrier. The train would be leaving soon. A second later, she vanished, leaving her troubles behind her.

The other side of the platform was crowded with witches and wizards of all ages, boarding the train, or bidding farewell to those who were. Lily immediately felt a bit of relief. Finally, something familiar. She noticed several people giving her odd glances, but she could imagine how her face must look from crying so much. 

She boarded the train, and found a compartment that was nearly empty except for one occupant; a girl with short brown hair and large bug-like gray eyes. Lily didn't recognize her, though she looked to be about her age. 

"Mind if I sit here?" asked Lily quietly.

"Not at all," replied the girl, in a thick French accent. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Lily Evans," said Lily, hoping the girl wouldn't continue to talk; she wasn't in the mood to start a conversation.

"My name is Camille Honnete. Nice to meet you." Lily couldn't help her curiosity. 

"I don't believe I've seen you around before. What year are you?"

"I've just transferred from Beauxbatons this year. I'll be in sixth." 

"Me too." Lily tried to force a smile.

"You look worried. Is something troubling you?" asked Camille, her large eyes looking at Lily as though she were some sort of museum artifact. 

"No, no, I'm fine. Just tired," said Lily, hoping that would discontinue the conversation. Camille seemed content with her response, and pulled out a thick novel and a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses. Lily closed her eyes.

"Lily. Lily!" Lily awoke to the sound of several voices calling her name.

"Hmm?" she muttered sleepily, trying to focus her eyes.

"Thanks for coming to talk to us, Lil. It's only been three months since we've seen you!" Lily blinked a few times, and realized that her closest Hogwarts friends were standing around her.

"Hi mates," she said tiredly. 

"Such enthusiasm," said Rae, grinning. 

"Are you okay, Lil?" asked Annica.

"I'm fine," Lily replied. "Rae, what did you do to your hair!" She exclaimed, noticing for the first time that her friend's once long black hair was now short, spiked, and highlighted red. 

"Took you long enough to notice," said Annica. 

"Do you like it?" asked Rae.

"Uh, yeah. It's really you, Rae," Lily replied. Rae had always been daring, and just a bit on the odd side, to say the least. Annica, on the other hand, looked the same as usual, tiny and meek with long white-blonde hair. 

"Hi, Adrian, Caleb," said Lily to her other two friends who hadn't spoken. Adrian rubbed his eyes, which looked red, and pushed his long blond bangs away from his face. Caleb yawned and ran a hand through his wavy, reddish-brown hair.

"Hi," they mumbled.

"These two lazy blokes wouldn't do anything but sleep and have chocolate frog eating contests the whole train ride. We had to drag them back here," said Rae, hitting Adrian on the arm. Lily let out a small laugh. It felt so strange to laugh again, but it felt good, she concluded.

"Only about an hour until we get to school," said Annica.

"I can almost taste all the delicious food at the feast," said Caleb. "I'm starved!" 

"You ate 127 chocolate frogs in the last two hours!" said Rae, shaking her head disapprovingly. Lily laughed again, and noticed that Camille had put her book away. She looked lonely.

"Everyone, this is Camille Honnete," she said. "She's come from Beauxbatons."

"Hi," Camille waved.

"And Camille, these are my friends Rae Berkeley, Annica Landeen, Adrian Kerr, and Caleb McFaye." The group exchanged greetings.

"Do you know what house you're being placed in yet, Camille?" asked Annica.

"Yes. I visited the Hogwarts last week and met Professor Dumbledore. He had me try on the sorting hat, and I'm in Gryffindor. Is that good?"

"Sure is," replied Rae. "Lily and I are in Gryffindor. Annica's in Ravenclaw, and Adrian and Caleb are in Hufflepuff. Mostly all of the houses are nice. You might want to be careful of a few Slytherins, but other than that everything's cool." Camille nodded.

"Well, I think we should get back to our compartment and change into our robes. We're going to be at school soon." Annica glanced at her watch. 

"Yeah," agreed Adrian. "See you girls later."

"See ya," said Lily and Camille.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Well, the amount of reviews for this story hasn't been too encouraging...but I'll continue uploading it anyway... since I already wrote it and  
  
all... It does get better, I think so anyway... (I'll be optimistic for once =) I'll probably put  
  
up about 2 chapters a day, in case you're interested... or maybe I'll just get ambitious  
  
and upload them all at once, who knows? There are 23 in all... I think. It's somewhere  
  
around there. Okay, I'll shut up now... on with the story!   
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
About forty-five minutes later, the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station. The students,  
  
now all in full uniform, boarded carriages. Lily, Camille, Rae, and Annica took one  
  
carriage. Adrian and Caleb were with some other friends. They arrived at the front door  
  
to the castle a few moments later. Lily sighed as she stepped down from the carriage.  
  
She finally felt like she was home; but deep inside, guilt was consuming her for the loss  
  
of her friends.   
  
The students filed into the Great Hall, and took their usual seats at their house tables.  
  
A few moments later, the first years shuffled in, their young faces glowing with  
  
anxiousness, hands shaking with worry. The sorting commenced, several new  
  
Gryffindors were received with applause at their table, most of it coming from Sirius  
  
Black, a loud and mischievous sixth year who not only applauded, stood, shouted and  
  
clapped enthusiastically for every new Gryffindor, but booed equally as much for every  
  
new Slytherin.   
  
When sorting was over, Professor Dumbledore stood for his yearly announcements.   
  
"Welcome, my students, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and  
  
Wizardry!" He outstretched his arms and smiled warmly. "To those of you who are new  
  
this year, I wish you the best, and I am sure you will find Hogwarts a wonderful place to  
  
learn, grow and make friends. Of course, there are some rules I would which I would  
  
like to remind students about. First of all, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all  
  
students. Secondly, there are to be no students roaming the corridors at night, and  
  
thirdly, there is to be no magic performed outside of the classroom. Violation of any of  
  
these rules will result in detention and loss of house points." Sirius booed, and most of  
  
the Gryffindor table laughed. "Mr. Black, you, more than perhaps any other person in  
  
this room, should listen carefully to those rules," said Dumbledore.   
  
"Yes, sir," responded Sirius, with a grin.   
  
Dumbledore announced the year's new prefects. Lily realized that with all the  
  
commotion she had forgotten that she was one herself.   
  
"Now there's just one more announcement before we begin the feast," he addressed  
  
the students. "Our Gryffindor quidditch captain would like to address the Gryffindors.  
  
James?"  
  
James Potter, another sixth year, who was sitting next to Sirius Black, stood at his seat  
  
and cleared his throat.  
  
"The Gryffindor quidditch team will be in need of a new seeker and a new beater for  
  
this year's team. Tryouts will be held September 23rd at six PM on the quidditch pitch.  
  
Anyone in second year or higher who is interested may try out. I will be holding practice  
  
sessions every Thursday evening from six to eight thirty on the pitch, so anyone who  
  
thinks the might be trying out should come out to practice. I'd be glad to give some  
  
pointers. Thanks." James sat down. Lily rolled her eyes. In her opinion the school was  
  
too obsessed with quidditch. It seemed it was all anyone talked about. Lily didn't mind  
  
the sport much; she loved to fly, but she found the publicity it received ridiculous.  
  
"Now," announced Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!" The plates and bowls on the  
  
tables instantly filled with food of all sorts.  
  
"I'm starving," said Camille, piling her plate high with everything in reach. Rae  
  
covered her plate with mashed potatoes, then began spooning black pudding over  
  
them; she was the only one who'd go near it.   
  
"That." Lily pointed at her plate. "Is absolutely disgusting! You are not going to eat  
  
that."  
  
"Sure I am," said Rae. "You know, at first, I thought it'd be a little strange too, but my  
  
cousin convinced me to try it last summer, and it's really good." A little strange was an  
  
understatement, thought Lily, turning her head so she wouldn't have to watch Rae eat.   
  
"You're not eating?" Camille asked, noticing Lily's empty plate.  
  
"I'm not hungry," Lily mumbled. She wasn't feeling too well suddenly.   
  
"Come on, Lil, it's not like you to starve yourself," said Rae, through a mouthful of  
  
mashed potatoes. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing," said Lily. "I'm just not hungry."  
  
"I don't believe you," said Rae.  
  
"She did not look well on the train earlier either. She looked like she'd been crying,"  
  
said Camille. Lily glared at her. How dare she say anything! She hardly even knew her!  
  
"Lily, something's up with you, I know it. Will you tell us?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong!" Lily shouted in frustration. Couldn't they see that she didn't want to  
  
talk?  
  
"Okay, okay," said Rae, backing off.  
  
"Hey girls." James Potter sat down at an empty seat at their section of the table.  
  
"Thinking of trying out for the quidditch team?"   
  
"I don't think so," said Rae.   
  
"Ah, come on," said James. "I want lots of people to take a shot at it. It's good fun."  
  
"Maybe," said Rae.  
  
"I think I will try out," said Camille.  
  
"Good," said James. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe I know you. You are?"  
  
"Camille Honnete. I transferred from Beauxbatons."  
  
"Awesome," said James. "I'll see you on the field then. And you?" he turned to Lily.  
  
"No," she said firmly.  
  
"Not going to take a chance at it?" asked James, smiling.  
  
"No, I'm really not interested." Lily wished he'd leave her alone.  
  
"Well, if you insist. But promise me you'll think about it, Lily—right?" She nodded.  
  
"Okay." She hoped to make him go away.  
  
"All right, see you all around then." He smiled and headed further down the table to  
  
promote Quidditch.   
  
"He seems really nice," said Camille. For some reason, Lily had the sudden urge to  
  
slap her. Of course, she refrained from it. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Their trunks had already been brought to the fifth year girls' dorm. Lily, Rae, Camille, and their two other roommates, Alycia Ferguson and Julianne Melvin each selected a four-poster bed. Feeling quite tired, they decided to go to sleep. 

Lily curled up under her red satin sheets, shivering, and tried to sleep. She felt so exhausted. It had seemed like ages had passed since only a day earlier when Lauren and Chris passed away. Yet it stuck in her mind so vividly. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it she was crying. She tried to sob into her pillow so no one would hear her, but soon she heard someone walking around outside of her curtains.

"Lily?" Camille's soft voice whispered. "Lily, are you crying?"

"Go away," Lily muttered. 

"No, Lily, I think we should talk." Camille pulled back her curtains.

"Stop that," hissed Lily.

"I know why you're upset," said Camille. "You live in Surrey, and two of your best friends were killed yesterday. I knew your name sounded familiar when I heard it, and now I know why."

"How in the world do you know that?" Lily was starting to become suspicious. 

"I read it in the newspaper. Your name was in it." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"You read the muggle newspaper?"

"Yes, I am very interested in muggle affairs," replied Camille. "I am very sorry for you Lily."

"Well don't be," said Lily coldly. "Leave me alone."

"You're just upset," said Camille. "I think you should tell your friends. They could maybe make you feel better. If you want I can tell them."

"No! Stay out of my life!" said Lily angrily. "If you please, I'm trying to sleep."

"I was just trying to help you. But if you insist, I'll go away," said Camille, closing her curtains. "Goodnight Lily." Lily was fuming. How dare she act like she could fix everything? And how the hell did she know about Lauren and Chris? It was awfully suspicious. And then she went and acted all sympathetic about it. Obviously a cover-up, thought Lily. She got a sickening feeling. What if Camille was in on it all along? What if she'd killed Lauren and Chris? It made perfect sense! Now she was just being nice to cover it up. She was probably secretly a Death Eater! I'll figure her out, Lily vowed to herself, fuming. Her anger soon exhausted her and she fell asleep. 

The next morning came sooner than Lily would have liked.

"Lily, Lily, wake up. Classes start soon." The thick French accent made all of Lily's anger come rushing back, but she knew she had to keep her cool. 

"I'll be up," she replied civilly. 

"Okay. Rae and I are going to breakfast. We will see you." Lily moaned and got up, feeling slightly angry with Rae too. They usually went to breakfast together in the morning. She prepared herself and headed downstairs to the Great Hall.

She sat down across from Rae and Camille to find them deep in conversation. 

"Hello," said Lily. Neither of the two of them noticed her. She sighed, taking two slices of toast. She was feeling hungrier this morning. She pulled out her schedule. Charms first, Lily's favorite class. 

"Oh, hey Lily. I didn't see you there," said Rae. "What class do you have first?"

"Charms," replied Lily. 

"Oh, we all do," said Rae. "Great."

"Yeah, great," repeated Lily sarcastically.

A half an hour later, the Gryffindors were seated in the charms classroom, tiny Professor Flitwick standing to address the class.

"Today we will begin by learning an invisibility charm." They listened intently as the instructions began. Lily felt confident in making her book invisible, and was just about to wave her wand when Professor Flitwick cried out.

"Amazing! Miss Honnete has done it already! Look at this, class!" Camille smiled slightly as everyone looked in awe at her empty desk, where her book had been sitting. Lily rolled her eyes, feeling angry. She was always the one to get the charms right first.

"Wow, Camille's really good at charms," whispered Rae, who was sitting next to her.

"She's not that great," muttered Lily. She was determined to prove she could do the charm just as well as Camille. She raised her wand and gave it a violent swish. At once, flames rose up from her charms book.

"Miss Evans!" cried Professor Flitwick, waving his wand to put out the fire. "What on earth do you think you're doing? You've got to learn to be more careful!" The class laughed. Sirius cheered. Lily turned a bright shade of red and stared at her desk, her anger raging. One thing was for certain. She didn't like Camille at all.

After charms class was Transfigurations, which Gryffindor had with Hufflepuff. Lily walked to class alone; Rae and Camille didn't even bother asking her to walk with them, and that was fine on her part. She thought maybe she could talk to Adrian and Caleb about it since they were in Hufflepuff, but when she walked into the classroom she found that they'd already sat with Camille and Rae. Caleb gave her a small wave, but she ignored him and sat down in front. 

Camille was the best in class at Transfigurations too, they soon found out. She even earned five points for Gryffindor. As they walked through the hallways after class, all Lily could hear was conversation after conversation about Camille.

"She's so good at transfigurations!"

"She must really be smart!"

"She's a genius!"

"She's really nice, too."

"And pretty."

Couldn't anyone else see her for what she really was? They must all be blind, thought Lily. She had the next period off, so she headed back to the dorm to mope about. 

"Lily!" she heard a voice call her name as she was walking down the hallway. She turned around.

"Hi Annica," she said to her friend.

"Hi, how's your day been so far?"

"Not so good, yours?"

"Not bad. I had charms second period, and I heard about Camille being able to do that charm on the first try. She must really be talented."

"Sure she is!" exclaimed Lily sarcastically, stomping off. 

The rest of the day passed by with Lily being angry, though no one seemed to really notice. In fact, she felt like she was invisible. Camille had taken her place with her friends, and they'd forgotten about her. And it had only been a day. _But I'll get Camille_, Lily vowed to herself. _I know there's something about her that isn't perfect like she pretends. I just don't know what it is yet. _

The week passed by rather uneventfully for Lily. Camille continued to do best in all of their classes. Occasionally Lily's friends would acknowledge her, but it never lasted long, and Camille was always included. 

Friday night, Lily was feeling like she could use a little fresh air. She realized that she hadn't flown since she'd arrived at Hogwarts. She pulled her Cleansweep 7 out of her trunk, and yanked open the large window. Mounting her broom, she soared off towards the setting sun. She zoomed around outside in the damp evening air, feeling free and relieved for the first time in a long while. She flew up and down, around in circles. She plummeted towards the ground, only to immediately soar upwards as she almost made contact. She slowed up and watched the stars begin to appear, before speeding up to fly fast again. 

"Lily!" a male voice called, startling her. "Lily!" She looked down. James Potter flew up to her on his broom.

"Hey there. I couldn't help but notice you're a really great flyer."

"You were watching me?" asked Lily, slightly annoyed.

"Well, yeah," said James. "And I think you'd make a great seeker. You seem like you love flying. Would you try out for the team?"

"No, I can't," said Lily.

"Why not?" asked James.

"Look, I don't want to," said Lily irritably. 

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, Lily. I've worked with lots of people at quidditch, and I believe you have got to be the best flyer I've seen in a long time. Now, I'll tell you this. If you try out, I can nearly guarantee you you'll make it." Lily took this into consideration. She really did love to fly. And if James thought she was good at it. Not just anyone, but _James, _then maybe she should give it a try.

"Okay," she said shyly. "I'll try out."

"Fabulous. Tryouts are in three weeks," said James, smiling at her. "Fly back to the castle with me?" he asked. "It's getting dark. We probably shouldn't be out anymore."

"Alright," Lily agreed. James flew with Lily to her window. 

"See you," he called.

"Bye," she replied, climbing in the window. She smiled to herself. She'd just talked to James, and she was going to try out for quidditch! If it hadn't been for the circumstances, she might have actually been happy.

Lily enjoyed flying in the evenings. It began to become a daily routine for her. Every evening, just after dinner, she flew out and around the grounds, clearing her mind of everything. Sometimes she cried, just to feel the wind blow the tears from her eyes. 

This was the case one particularly warm night, when she found someone else flying as well. 

"Hi Lily!" called a voice she recognized. Lily quickly tried to blink back her tears, but it was hopeless. "Lily, will you come and talk to me?" It was James. He landed on the ground and she flew down to him. There was no use in trying to run away.

"Hi," she said, rubbing her eyes as she dismounted her broom.

"So, you really like flying, don't you?" asked James.

"Yeah," Lily replied meekly.

"You're crying, aren't you?" James asked. Lily opened her mouth to say no, but a sob came out instead. She felt like running, but her feet wouldn't carry her. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" asked James. Lily silently shook her head. "Sit down," James took her hand and made her sit next to him under a large tree. "Now, why don't we talk?"

"I don't even know you," Lily sobbed. "You don't feel like listening to my problems."

"Well, maybe it's time we get to know each other," said James. "And I'll listen as long as you want me to. Look, I've been upset before, and I know it always helps when you talk about it."

"Your idea of being upset is losing a quidditch game!" Lily sobbed. 

"Just talk," said James softly.

"Okay, fine," Lily answered. Before she knew it, everything she had bottled up inside her came spilling out, from Chris and Lauren's deaths to Camille. James listened patiently without a word.

"Wow," said when she finished. "You've been through a lot. I'm sorry to hear about your friends. I'll bet you feel better now, don't you?"

"Yeah," Lily answered honestly. 

"See, I told you that you would." James grinned. Lily forced a smile back. He was really a nice person, she thought. 

"I should probably go now," said Lily.

"Yeah, it's getting late," agreed James. "Hey, anytime you need a friend to talk to, you can talk to me, all right?"

"Thank you," said Lily. "Just please don't say anything to anyone else."

"Don't worry, I would never do that," said James. "Fly back with me again?" he asked.

"Sure," replied Lily.

"Bet I get there first!" James took off flying.

"No way!" Lily called back, taking off after him. James beat her by a few seconds.

"No fair! You got a head start!" Lily called.

"I still won!" shouted James. "Good night, Lily."

"Good night." Lily climbed back through the window, feeling better than she had in a very long time.

It was good to have a friend, Lily found. Her other friends talked to her occasionally, but usually became irritated because she didn't want to be around Camille. James, on the other hand, hardly knew Camille, so she didn't pose any problem. Besides, Lily couldn't see James being the type of person who acted that way; he was too friendly to everyone.

She met him nearly every night when she went out flying. He was really nice to talk to. She remembered back to the days when she used to like him, but now he felt more like a friend than anything. Every night they raced back to the castle, and on several occasions, Lily actually won, and James pretended to sulk. 

The night before quidditch tryouts, James wished her good luck and told her he'd look forward to having her on the team. 

"I think you'll be the best seeker we've had on the team in a long time," he said.

"I'm not that good," said Lily.

"Sure you are," replied James. "You just need to have more confidence in yourself."

"I've got nothing to be confident of," said Lily. 

"Sure you do. You're smart, friendly, talented, beautiful…" he leaned forward and kissed her. She jumped back in surprise. 

"I-I've got to go now. Bye," she flew off on her broom.

"Bye!" James called. Lily was shaking so hard she could barely control her broom enough to fly back to her dorm. She felt so confused about what James had done. She wasn't really happy, but she wasn't angry. She didn't know what to think. She pondered until she drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The quidditch pitch was full of Gryffindors, all planning to try out for the team. James stood in the center of the field, giving instructions. Lily flew in overhead on her broom, lowering herself to the ground, all the while trying not to blush as James saw her. He smiled as he caught her eye. Lily saw that Camille was also on the field to try out.

"We're first going to start with those of you trying out for seeker!" James called to the crowd. Anyone trying out, please form a line over here." He began to place people in order. Camille was two places in front of her. Lily was last in line. 

"Save the best for last," James whispered to her as he walked by, winking. 

Lily began to feel nervous. What was she doing, anyway? She'd never actually played a real game of quidditch in her entire life. 

"Okay, If I could please have everyone's attention!" called James. "When it's your turn, you're going to fly up as high as the goal posts and circle around to start. Then Sirius will release the snitch. All you've got to do is catch it and land. We'll start with the first person in line." A younger looking boy flew up into the air, wobbling all the way. After about a good fifteen minutes of trying to catch the snitch, he gave up. Sirius retrieved the snitch, and moved on to the next person. No one did very well, in fact about half of those who tried didn't catch the snitch at all. Lily began to feel better; she knew she could control her broom, and that was the key to it. 

It was Camille's turn. She mounted her broom and flew towards the goal posts. She was fast. Everyone stared at her, mouths open in awe. Sirius released the snitch, and in less than 10 seconds she flew to the ground, snitch clenched tightly in her fist. Everyone cheered. Even James looked impressed. The next two girls went, neither of them doing very well.

Finally, it was Lily's turn. Feeling rather foolish, she mounted her broom and flew up to the goal posts. Sirius released the snitch, but instantly she lost sight of it. She flew in circles, feeling ridiculous. She couldn't see it anywhere. What have I gotten myself into? She wondered. Suddenly, she saw a gold sparkle out of the corner of her eye. There was the snitch, hovering just feet from the ground. She plunged into a dive and reached out her hand. An instant later she felt it enclosing on the small snitch, its wings beating against her fingers. She landed, snitch in her hand, receiving applause from the crowd. 

"The team members will now make their decisions," said James. "Please wait just a few moments." He, Sirius, and three other Gryffindors huddled in the center of the pitch. For a moment it looked as though they were arguing. 

Lily was anxious. It might have taken her a little while to find the snitch, but she was sure her dive was magnificent. 

"We have reached a conclusion!" James called out. The field fell silent. "And the new Gryffindor seeker is…" he took a breath. "Camille Honnete!"

Lily felt as though someone had just slapped her across the face. It hadn't started to hurt yet, it was just numb. She was shocked. Before she realized what was going on, she felt her eyes beginning to overflow with tears. She mounted her broom and flew back towards the castle before anyone could say a word. 

The dorm was empty, so she sat on her bed and sobbed. James had done nothing but lie to her. He said she was good. He said she'd make the team for sure. She'd told him everything, she trusted him. And then he betrayed her like everyone else, all because of Camille. Everyone loved her, it was plain to see. She was good at everything, and she was deceptive. She was probably a Death Eater, controlling everyone's minds. She sobbed and sobbed, punching her pillow as hard as she could with her fist. 

"Lily?" she heard Camille's voice.

"Don't even talk to me!" Lily shouted. "Don't you come near me!"

"I just wanted to tell you that you did really well today," said Camille.

"I'm sure you did! More like you wanted to rub it in my face that you're better than me at everything I do!" Lily bawled.

"It does not do you any good in life to be jealous, Lily," said Camille. 

"I am not jealous of you! I hate you!" Lily screamed. "I hate you! You ruined my life! You killed my friends! You take away my other friends! You do better than me at everything I'm good at! What's left for me? What the hell is left for me?"

"I have done no such things, Lily," said Camille calmly, walking out the door. Lily screamed as loud as she possibly could, then rolled over and fell asleep. 

The next day was Sunday, and the only time Lily left the dorm was to take a hot bath in the prefects' bathroom. Camille was at the first quidditch practice, so Rae had nothing to do.

"I really want to apologize to you, Lily," she said. "I know we haven't been spending much time with you lately. But you're not very nice to Camille either."

"That's because there's something weird with her. And she has to be better than everyone at everything."

"There's something weird with YOU, Lily," said Rae. "You've been acting so different this year."

"Don't try to make me believe Camille didn't tell you what happened." Lily rolled her eyes.

"She didn't tell me anything. So what did happen?" Lily's eyes began to tear up.

"Look, my friends Chris and Lauren were killed the day before school started!"

"Oh my gosh, Lily! I had no idea!" Rae put her arm around Lily. "I can't believe it! I'm so sorry."

"I'm not looking for your pity," said Lily coldly. "Don't expect me to be friends with you if you're friends with Camille. She's got something to do with it, and I'm going to figure out what it is."

"Lily, how can you possibly think that? I suppose Camille, who wouldn't harm a fly, came to your neighborhood and murdered your two best friends for no reason whatsoever."

"She knew about it on the first day of school. I think she's a Death Eater," Lily replied.

"Now you're really freakin' crazy!" exclaimed Rae. "You have no right to call Camille a Death Eater when you have no evidence! The only reason you're acting this way is because you're jealous! You make me sick!" Rae stormed from the dorm, slamming the door behind her. 

Lily was shaking with rage. She wasn't upset anymore; she was angry. How could everyone be so blind? Camille was up to something, and she was going to find out what it was!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. 

__

Author's notes: All right, so how long has it been since I've updated this story? Months? Years?… well, not quite that long, but I know it's been a ridiculously long amount of time. I'm not going to try to make stupid excuses, the point is, I didn't follow through uploading like I'd promised. I'm sorry. To be truthful, this is probably my least favorite story I've written; at least, it's not one of the better ones. But, nevertheless, it's completely written, so I might as well post it. I did enjoy writing it, I must say, although I think it could have used some more work. I got tired of it, so it is what it is. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

The night's silence was broken by Esprit's squawks as he flew in the window.

"Don't you ever shut up?" muttered Lily, climbing from her bed. "What do you want?" He flew in fast circles around her head. "Did you bring a letter from mum?" Esprit carried no letter. Lily thought it strange that her mother wouldn't write back. She'd only received two letters from her since the start of term. "Off to the owlery with you then!" She shooed the bird off. "Go!" Esprit continued to squawk loudly as he flew back out the window. Lily sighed. Even her pet wouldn't cooperate with her. 

She flopped back onto her bed. It was well after midnight and she should have been sleeping. It seemed odd that Esprit hadn't woken anyone else in her dorm. Alycia and Julianne were probably still in the common room. Lily tended to find that they rarely came to the dorms before 2 AM normally. Camille, on the other hand, always insisted on her full eight hours of sleep, and Rae typically insisted on more like twelve. Lily couldn't help her curiosity. 

She slipped through her curtains and tiptoed to Camille's bed. She slid the curtain back just enough to peek in. Empty! So Camille was out somewhere! What was anyone in their right mind doing out at this time of night, unless they were up to something? 

Next she walked over to Rae's bed and slid back the curtains. She was gone too! Something was definitely going on. Lily slid her crimson slippers onto her feet and headed down the spiral stairs to the empty common room. She climbed out through the portrait hole and started to head down the corridor.

"Sneaking out at night, are we?" asked the fat lady. 

"Shut it, you!" hissed Lily. "You'll get me caught. I've got something very important to attend to."

"My lips are sealed," said the fat lady with a smirk. Lily took off down the hallway, light on her feet. Every few seconds she wondered what she was doing. The castle was huge, and she had no idea where to look. Still, she felt that something was wrong, and Camille had something to do with it. She roamed the castle for what felt like it must have been close to two hours, and found nothing even slightly suspicious. 

Puzzled, she headed back to the common room. She gave the fat lady the password and climbed through the portrait hole. She tiptoed back to the fifth year girls' dorm. She opened the door to find Camille kneeling next to her bed, rooting through her trunk.

"Lily. I had not realized you weren't sleeping," she said.

"Yeah, well I realized that you weren't. You weren't here two hours ago. Where were you?"

"Lily, what I do is not your business. I assure you I am causing harm to no one."

"Where's Rae then?"

"I have not seen Rae this evening," Camille replied, turning her attention back to her trunk. She flipped the lid closed and fastened the latches. "If you'll excuse me, Lily, I need some sleep. I suggest you do the same."

"I'm going to figure out what you're up to. I assure you of that." Camille didn't respond. She had already climbed inside the curtains of her four-poster. 

Lily returned to her bed, angry with Camille as ever, and slowly fell asleep. 

She awoke the next morning to find the dorm empty. Glancing at her clock, she saw that there was only ten minutes until breakfast. She dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. She took her normal seat at the Gryffindor table, near the far end amongst a bunch of second years. Peering up the table, she noticed that Rae wasn't at her usual seat. Instead, James was sitting next to Camille, and they were talking. 

Lily slammed her glass of pumpkin juice onto the table so hard it splattered out.

"Watch it!" squeaked a second year girl. Lily paid no attention. At the high table, Dumbledore stood up in front of them, his face solemn.

"Students. I am afraid this morning I have the task of informing you of some rather unpleasant news." The great hall fell silent. "Early this morning, one of our students was discovered in the Forbidden Forest. She was suffering from after effects of a strong Crucius curse." The older students of the school gasped; the younger looked puzzled. "Fortunately, the student will make a full recovery as early as tomorrow. As soon as she comes around we should be able to speak with her as to exactly what happened. Until then, however, no student will be permitted to leave the building unless accompanied by a teacher. Quidditch practice will continue, with teacher supervision…" the entire student body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "There is no reason as of right now to believe that we are in great danger, but precautions must be taken. Anyone caught breaking these rules will be punished severely. The student who was involved in the attack is Rae Berkely." Lily's mouth dropped open. She'd been guessing it was Rae, but this confirmation still startled her. "She is currently in the infirmary. Any friends who would like to visit her will be allowed from ten to noon. That is all." Dumbledore sat down, and instantly the hall began to rumble with conversation. 

Lily glanced at Camille, who was shrugging at James and Remus Lupin, who were apparently asking her about Rae. Lily was sure she was the one who'd performed the curse. All they'd have to do was wait for Rae to awake, and everyone would know that Camille was a liar. Then all of Lily's problems were solved. 

Later that day, Lily debated going to see Rae. She didn't feel in the mood, so instead she made a simple card reading Get Well Soon, and sent it off with Esprit. Lily felt like laughing. Camille was as good as ruined. 

The next day, Lily decided she would visit Rae, to see if she'd regained consciousness yet. She had almost reached the infirmary when she heard two voices talking. She recognized them as Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore. 

"I don't want to scare anyone, Poppy, but I have reason to believe that whoever attacked Rae last night was stopped by someone. Otherwise, I believe, it's quite possible, that the attacker would have killed her," Dumbledore's voice was grim. Madam Pomfrey gasped. 

"You don't think it's…"

"Yes. I have many reasons to believe that Lord Voldemort is involved with this. Not directly, mind you. I believe it must have been a Death Eater."

"Was there a Dark Mark?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"No. That is another reason why I believe the attacker must have had to leave in a hurry."

"How did you find her?"

"That, is a very curious matter indeed," said Dumbledore. "I was awoken last night by a fifth year Gryffindor by the name of Camille Honnete…" Lily listened more intently, her mouth open wide in surprise. "She told me she'd had a horrible dream that someone had been attacked down by the quidditch pitch. I tried to tell the girl that it was probably only a nightmare, but she begged me to go and make sure. Eventually her persistence convinced me to go have a look, and young Miss Berkely is who I found." 

__

Camille wasn't sleeping last night, thought Lily. _She was out somewhere. She'd lied to Dumbledore! _Lily was certain Camille was responsible. All evidence pointed to her. Not wanting to be seen by Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey, Lily headed back to the common room. 

In the dorm, she ran into Camille, who was just on her way out. 

"Lily, I am going to see Rae. I feel very bad about what happened to her. Would you like to come with me?"

"Don't even act innocent! I am onto you! And as soon as Rae wakes up and tells everyone what happened you'll be sent to Azkaban faster than you can say Avada Kedavra!" Camille shook her head. 

"You misunderstand many things, Lily Evans. You'd do better not to make conclusions until you are certain you're right." With that, she walked out the door. 

Never in her life had Lily met a more frustrating person that Camille Honnete.


	9. Chapter 9

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's notes: Another chapter coming your way… fun, fun, fun… 

Chapter 9

The next day, word spread that Rae had woken. Lily was content; no more Camille. She decided to go see Rae and hear for herself what had happened. She entered the infirmary just as Professor Dumbledore was leaving. He didn't look pleased. Lily was certain he'd just found out about Camille, and was off to have her expelled. 

"Rae?" asked Lily.

"Hi, Lil." Rae smiled weakly from her bed. 

"So, what happened?" Lily was impatient. She sat down in the chair next to Rae's bed. Rae looked at her, confusion in her eyes.

"I don't know. I can't remember any of it." Lily's mouth dropped open.

"You can't remember anything? Not anything at all?" Rae shook her head.

"Nothing."

"But you've got to remember something! Anything! What the person who attacked you looked like, at least!"

"I'm sorry, Lily, but I don't have any recollection of the night whatsoever. Why does it matter anyway? I'm okay. It's not like I'm dead or anything." Lily moaned. 

"You don't remember seeing Camille at all then?" 

" Camille?" Rae's look of confusion slowly changed to anger as she realized what Lily was suggesting. "Why are you bringing her into this? Of course I don't remember seeing Camille! Camille wasn't there! She's my friend. Why would you think she would do something like that?" 

"I have my reasons," Lily said slowly.

"You really disgust me Lily! I thought maybe you were actually concerned for my well being, but now I see all you really care about is getting rid of Camille. Well, I'll tell you something! If anyone should be gotten rid of at this school it's you!"

"She's brainwashed you!"

"She has not! Camille is a decent person! She's not some Death Eater, or whatever you think. So why don't you just leave me alone!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Girls!" Madam Pomfrey's harsh voice echoed as she rushed across the room. "You!" she pointed to Lily. "Out! I won't have students making a racket while others are trying to rest! You should learn to have some more respect!" Lily walked towards the door, glancing back at Rae, who glared at her before Madam Pomfrey slammed the door shut. It looked as though she wouldn't get Camille this time. 

***

For the next few days all everyone talked about was the upcoming quidditch match; Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Lily thought if she heard another person talking about Gryffindor's new seeker, she'd scream. One day in the corridor, she met Annica for the first time in several weeks.

"Hi Lily." Annica smiled pleasantly.

"Hi Annica." Lily returned the sentiment. 

"So, are you coming to the quidditch match tomorrow?" she asked. Lily rolled her eyes.

"If I hear the word quidditch one more time, I think I'm going to go crazy!"

"Really? I'd have thought you'd have been excited. I hear your house team is really good this year. Half of Ravenclaw is even rooting for Gryffindor. They say with Camille as seeker, by the time the whole school gets to the stands, the match will be over."

"Good. The less I have to hear about it the better." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Are you okay, Lily? You seem really different this year. It's too bad we don't have any classes together."

"Yeah," Lily replied. At least Annica was nice to her. "I'm fine."

"All right. Well, I guess I better get to the library. I have a History of Magic essay due next week."

"All right. See you around." Lily turned to walk away.

"Bye. Oh, and say hi to Rae and Camille for me."

"Sure," Lily muttered as she walked away. 

As Lily rounded the corner to the fat lady portrait, she met yet another person in the corridor.

"Lily. I've been wanting to talk to you!" It was James. Lily turned around to face him, feeling disgusted.

"And what could you possibly have to say to me?" 

"Look, Lily, I feel really bad about tryouts. I seriously thought you'd be the best person who tried out. I had no idea Camille was good. I guess I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up like that." James stopped talking. Lily glared at him, silent. "If it makes you feel any better, I wanted you to be on the team. So, I was thinking, since you didn't make it, I could use someone to help out at practices and stuff. Would you be interested?" Lily shook her head in disgust.

"You make me sick, Potter. All that matters to you is your damn quidditch team! I was a fool enough to think maybe you actually liked me, but now I see all you were looking for was a seeker, and as soon as someone better came along you forgot about me completely!"

"That's not true, Lily. If I'd forgotten about you would I be talking to you right now? Look, I made you an offer. I can't help it that Camille did better than you at tryouts."

"Screw your offer! I'm not going to be little miss help Potter the great and powerful quidditch captain!"

"Hey, I was just trying to make it up to you for what happened."

"You don't get it, do you James? You really are an idiot! It's not the quidditch team that upsets me. It's the fact that you ignored me, just like everyone else, as soon as I wasn't good enough. It's all because Camille's better than me at everything!"

"You're not the only person that feels intimidated by Camille. She's better than everybody! But if it makes you feel any better, I think she's kind of weird. Look, Lily, please don't hold this against me. I don't want to go out on the field tomorrow with this guilt hanging over my head."

"So, it's all about the game! You don't care about me at all! It's all your bleeding quidditch!"

"Lily, just list—"

"Shove off, you inconsiderate prat!" Lily stormed into the common room, leaving James standing behind, puzzled.

Lily didn't stop running until she reached the dorm. She flung herself down on the bed, tears filling her eyes. She buried her face in her pillow. Why did James have to be so insensitive? Lily pondered this. Camille, that was why. It seemed she brought out the worst in everyone. 

***

The next day dawned crisp and clear. The perfect weather for a quidditch match, or so Camille said before breakfast. She appeared from the bathroom, dressed in full quidditch attire. Her crimson robes hung neatly, not so much as a crease in their flowing appearance. Her hair was no longer deep brown, but streaked with red and gold and she had clipped it back from her face with carefully arranged red and gold hair clips. She had coated her eyelids in gold eyeshadow, and a large crimson G was painted on each of her cheeks. Her fingernails glimmered gold, and she even had red shoes, which were barely visible under her long robes.

"You look great, girl!" exclaimed Rae. "I love your hair!" Personally Lily thought she looked like something that had stepped out of a muggle circus, but she didn't say anything. 

"James wanted us to have lots of team spirit," explained Camille. "He wants us to play well today."

"Well, good luck!" said Rae. "You'll be awesome, I'm sure."

"Thank you. The support of Gryffindor house means a lot to us." Lily felt like gagging listening to her. "Well, I've got to go warm up. Bye." Camille left the dorm. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't say anything. She didn't feel like starting anything with Rae.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Esprit flew in the window, and tried to land on Rae's head, his feet getting caught in her hair. 

"Ouch!" Rae screeched, as Esprit squawked and tried to break free of her hair. Lily rushed to help. 

"Damn good for nothing owl," she muttered. "No mail again." She pulled Esprit free from Rae.

"Thanks, Lily. That's one wild owl you got there."

"Sorry about that," said Lily awkwardly as she shooed Esprit off to the owlery.

"No problem," said Rae. "If I were an owl I think I'd act like that." She grinned, smoothing the tangles out of her hair. "So, are you going to the game?" Lily shrugged. She might as well, after all, it was all the school would be talking about for the next month. 

"Sure, why not," said Lily. 

"Awesome!" said Rae. She must have been trying to make amends, Lily reasoned. "We should sit together."

"Okay," Lily agreed.

"Let's go get some breakfast. I can almost taste that black pudding!" She grinned at the disgusted look on Lily's face. 

"Whatever sparks your wand," said Lily. She was tired of being disagreeable constantly. She deserved to have a little fun sometimes. And Rae really wasn't so bad, at least not when Camille wasn't around. 

At breakfast, Lily sat at her old seat, next to Rae. For a little while things felt like normal, and she'd almost entirely forgotten about Camille. After breakfast, however, Dumbledore dismissed them to the Quidditch stadium. 

The whole school paraded towards the stands, talking excitedly about the match, which had been predicted a sure victory for Gryffindor, even by most Ravenclaws. 

"Lily! Rae!" Annica ran to catch up with them. 

"Hey Ann! What's happening?" Rae asked. "Your teams going down!"

"Yeah, I know. Nothing much. You?"

"Well, Lily's acting like a human being again, I think." Rae grinned. Lily made a face.

"Well, that's always good," said Annica. "Well, I better get to the Ravenclaw stands."

"See ya!" said Rae. She and Lily headed across the field to the Gryffindor stands. As they did, they spotted Adrian sitting with a megaphone. He was the announcer.

"Oy, Adrian!" bellowed Rae. He glanced in their direction. She waved and grinned stupidly. Lily waved too. He gave a small wave back, shaking his head. They ascended the stands and got good seats near the front. 

"I hope we get to see some action before Camille catches the snitch." Rae rubbed her hands together in anticipation. 

"Yeah, me too," agreed Lily. For once Rae wasn't praising Camille like a goddess. They watched as the rest of the students filled the stands, and waited for the match to begin. 

"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season! Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" Adrian's voice was magnified 100 times. Thunderous applause and cheering filled the stands.

"And now, I introduce to you this year's Gryffindor team!" Lily slouched back in her seat. She couldn't help but feel depressed. She should have been out on that field today. "Chasers: Team Captain James Potter!" James flew out on his broom and swooped in a large circle, his fists in the air. "Anastasia Wisowski, and Gregory Skeeter!" One by one they flew onto the field. "Beaters: Sirius Black and new to the team this year this year, Chloe Gudgeon!" They joined the others. "Keeper: Theodore Wood! And this year's new seeker, Camille Honnete!" Camille flew out to the others, receiving a huge applause. From the ground, it was impossible to tell one player from another. The entire team had painted their hair like Camille's. 

Adrian announced the Ravenclaw team, and the players lined up in their starting positions. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the game began.

"And they're off! Gryffindor takes possession of the quaffle. A great pass by Skeeter, and Wisowski scores! 10 points for Gryffindor! And Ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle! Ooh, look out for that bludger, Wood! A fabulous block by Black!" 

The players zoomed back and forth across the field, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw both scoring several times. Camille flew around the field, but appeared to have no sight of the snitch. Nor did the Ravenclaw seeker, a third year boy by the name of Alan Flemming.

"Gudgeon whacks a bludger! Look out Flemming! Stupendous block by Wood! Ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle! Michaels takes a shot at a score, and it slips past Wood! Ravenclaw scores!" 

Lily noticed, for the first time, that James was having little involvement in the game, which was very out of the ordinary indeed. In fact, she noticed, he was just sort of flying slowly above everyone else, looking somewhat scared, or sick maybe. Suddenly, Camille went zooming on her broom.

"And Honnete must have spotted the snitch! There she goes! And she's… off the field!" It was true. Quite suddenly, Camille had taken off for the Forbidden Forest, and disappeared into the trees. 

The players had all paused in mid air. James looked very weak on his broom. He wobbled and shook violently; the eyes of the crowd turned to him. All at once he tumbled from his broomstick, making no effort to stop himself. 

Sirius and Theodore immediately sped towards the ground to try to break his fall, but they were too late.

"Potter has fallen! Is he all right?" A crowd of teachers immediately darted for the center of the field, Dumbledore not far behind. Adrian ran to join them as well. The entire stadium fell silent as everyone focused on James.

"What about Camille?" asked Lily. "As soon as she flew off, James fell!" 

"Oh, Lily, come off it," said Rae. "Would you worry about James like everyone else? He might really be hurt!"

"And it really might be Camille's fault!" Lily insisted. "No one even bothers to see where she went!" 

"She probably saw the snitch. Sometimes they venture from the field, you know. It's not unheard of." 

"It's awfully suspicious," said Lily. "Too suspicious." Rae shook her head in disgust. 

"You've got one hell of a wild imagination, Lily."

"It's not my fault this whole damn school is blind!"

"I thought maybe you'd gotten over your little jealousy act with Camille and we were going to be friends again, but obviously I was wrong!"

"Jealousy!" Lily demanded. "Jealousy? That's what you think this is? Who's got a wild imagination now!"

"Oh, come off it Lily! You know what, just don't talk to me! You disgust me!" 

"Fine then," Lily muttered. 

Dumbledore had taken the megaphone from Adrian, and used it to make an announcement.

"Students." The stands fell silent. "I would like to first inform you that Mr. Potter will make a full recovery. Secondly, this quidditch match, and all future matches are canceled, at least until further notice." His voice was drowned out by a multitude of booing. "Students!" he shouted harshly. All was silent again. "I am doing this in the interest of your safety. There have been two attacks on students this school year; both of them occurring outside of the building. Fortunately we have not had any fatalities, but it is possible that if there's a next time, we won't be so lucky. Therefore, no student leaves the school building until I have given further notice. Now, if everyone would please proceed back to his or her common room and await further instructions." 

Students began to empty the stands, worry, sadness, and disappointment hanging over them. 

Lily was one of the first few people to arrive back at the Gryffindor common room. Feeling quite disgusted, she headed back to the dorm, hoping to get some peace and quiet. She swung the door open. 

"Hello Lily."

Lily nearly fell over with shock. There, standing by the large window, staring out towards the quidditch field, was Camille.

"I saw you take off on your broom today, just before James fell." Lily stepped closer, cornering her. 

"Yes, I saw the snitch," said Camille, looking slightly uncomfortable. 

"Saw the snitch, eh? So, you wouldn't have any idea what suddenly made Potter just fall over then, would you?"

"I don't know what happened to James, Lily," said Camille. "I can assure you, though, that I had nothing to do with it. I know nothing more about James' fall than you do."

"Yeah, and I believe that!" said Lily sarcastically. She took a step closer to Camille, so that she was leaning backwards, against the window ledge."

"You know, Camille, maybe you'd like to find out what it's like to fall." Lily's voice was sickeningly sugar-coated. 

"You, you're crazy," said Camille, reaching for her wand. 

"Make you nervous, do I?" Lily demanded. "Do I?" She pointed her wand threateningly. "But what do you have to be nervous of, Camille? Remember, you've done nothing wrong. You don't even know anything about James' fall today. You don't know anything about Rae being attacked, and you most certainly know nothing about the deaths of Lauren and Chris!" Lily paused a second, breathing deeply, her heart pounding. Camille's face appeared calm, but she saw her breathing heavily. Her hand was clamped tightly to her wand, making her knuckles turn white, but she didn't dare strike right there within the castle. That would have been too obvious.

Quite suddenly, the door burst open. 

"Lily!" Rae shouted. "Lily, knock that off!" Before Lily knew what was happening, Rae had grabbed her and made her fall to the stone ground. "If you don't knock this shit off, I'm going to Dumbledore!" Rae stood over her threateningly. "This isn't some little game! You're crazy!"

"Please, Rae," said Camille, walking away from the window ledge. "Do not let this worry you. It was between Lily and me, and it was nothing serious. We'll handle it ourselves."

"If you insist," said Rae. "I'm out of here." She walked out, slamming the door behind her. Camille followed shortly after. Lily stayed on the ground, trembling. What had she almost done? She was starting to scare herself. She did hate Camille, and she did think she was responsible for the attacks, but she'd never intended to kill her; not to actually kill her. The Lily she used to be would have never so much as thought about killing anyone. Now, she had to wonder what would have happened if Rae hadn't walked in when she had. _I'll have to remember to thank her someday,_ Lily thought. _But not for a long time._


	10. Chapter 10

_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything
_

Author's notes: Parlez-vous francais?… you'll see why…. 

Chapter 10

Classes were becoming more and more dreaded for Lily, as she fell more and more behind in her studies. She'd been so unlike herself lately, that she felt like she hardly knew who she was anymore. 

Her attack on Camille had brought her to a realization. She wasn't her normal self at all. The recent events had ruined her. Once one of the most talented students in her year, she now scraped by, barely passing. Typically friendly and easy-going, she was now uptight, solitary, and what many people would probably consider paranoid. 

She sunk deeper and deeper into depression. There was nothing to occupy her time; no friends, no hobbies. How she would have loved to take a refreshing fly over the grounds, but she, like the rest of the school, was restricted to the castle. Not only that, but as December neared the weather grew bitter cold and snowy. 

So Lily spent most of her time alone and miserable, either sitting in the common room, or lying awake in her bed. She'd become little more than a walking zombie. 

Sometimes, she did wonder to herself if she was imagining some of her reasons for suspecting Camille, but she couldn't bring it to conscious consideration. The one thing that kept her going was her certainty in Camille's wrongdoing. 

Occasionally, she received a letter from home, but not as often as she would have liked. Her mother never actually came out and said it, but it seemed Petunia was causing her parents an awful lot of trouble with Vernon. Not only that, but her mother was spending lots of time caring for Mrs. Aubrey, Chris' mother, who had been a widow before Chris died, and was now completely alone. 

The muggle world had never felt further away from Lily. Neither had the wizarding world. She wasn't really living in either one. As far as she could tell, she must have been stuck in some ridiculous nightmare, unable to make herself wake up. 

Lily may have been neglected since Camille arrived, but there were still people concerned about her well being. One day in transfigurations, McGonagal asked her to stay after class.

After the other students had left, McGonagal asked Lily if she'd please have a seat in her office. Feeling as though she was probably going to be punished for nearly killing Camille, Lily reluctantly sat down. 

"Miss Evans, it hasn't taken much for me to notice that you've been acting very different in class this year. I have spoken to the rest of the staff, and they agree with me. I understand the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two of your close friends last August. Death can be a difficult thing to deal with, but it's been nearly four months, and you've shown no signs of improvement. At first Dumbledore instructed us to keep our distance, and let you recover on your own, but I'm afraid it's been quite a long time. Is there anything else bothering you, Lily? Anything you might like to talk about?" Lily stared at her a few seconds, unsure of what to say.

"No, Professor," she said finally. 

"You're certain?" Lily nodded.

"I guess this has all just been really hard for me, that's all."

"And your friends, Miss Evans. I can't help but notice that you and Miss Berkeley never sit together anymore in my class. Is there some sort of problem you'd like to talk about?" Lily froze. She couldn't tell McGonagal that her problem was Camille.

"No, ma'am, there aren't any problems. Rae and I have just sort of drifted apart since Camille arrived." 

"I see," said McGonagal. "Lily, I want you to be honest. Do you ever feel, how do I put this? Do you ever feel envious of Camille? I notice she seems to accelerate at school, as you had until this year." 

"No. I am not jealous of Camille!" Lily spoke a bit louder than she'd intended. McGonagal lowered her glasses and looked at Lily without them, her eyebrows raised. 

"Are you sure about that, dear?" 

"I'm not jealous of her. We might not get along so well, but I'm not jealous." 

"Are there reasons why you two don't get along?" McGonagal asked.

"I'd prefer not to talk about it," replied Lily.

"Very well then." McGonagal sighed. "You're free to go. No use keeping you here." Lily felt slightly uncomfortable leaving. She'd been so close to telling McGonagal everything. But she just couldn't do it. She quickly picked up her books, stood up and left the office, before her mouth had a chance to speak again, without consulting with her brain first. 

On her way back to the common room, Lily made a decision. She couldn't go on the way she had been. She might not have had any friends, and she might have still been suffering from the loss of Chris and Lauren, but one thing she did have was her intelligence. 

If she did nothing else, Lily decided, she would at least dedicate her time and effort to her schoolwork. Maybe if she worked hard enough, she could grow back into the person she'd once been, she reasoned. 

Back in the dorm, she gathered up her books, and headed for the library to work on some essays she'd been ignoring. 

As she entered the library, she spotted a very peculiar sight. Madam Pince was aiding a student in the restricted section, and not just any student. It was Camille. She had her arms full with about five books Madam Pince had plucked off the shelf. _What could she possibly need those for?_ Lily wondered. She tried to see if she could read any of the titles, but they were too far away. Not wanting to make herself look to obvious, Lily continued into the library, trying to keep Camille off her mind, and stay focused on what she was doing.

Nothing refreshed Lily like some good, focused, researching. It got her mind thinking. It pulled her away from the problems plaguing her life, and gave her a change of pace. After three solid hours in the library, her history of magic essay was finished, and her transfigurations essay nearly complete. 

Feeling better than she had for months, she walked back towards the common room, her mind still on fifteenth century wizard government. She absent-mindedly gave the password to the fat lady and entered the common room. It was nearly full, so she headed to the dorm with her things. 

She quietly swung the door open. She heard Camille's voice on the other side, but it wasn't a language she understood. She tiptoed in, feeling suspicious. 

"Et apres, je suis allée dans le forêt, ou j'ai trouvé… Lily?"

"Sorry, Camille, am I interrupting something?" Lily inquired sarcastically. 

"No, no, not at all," said Camille calmly. Lily saw what she was talking to in her hand. It was a tiny, red glowing ball, which appeared to have wings.

"What's that?" Lily asked, trying not to seem too demanding.

"This is a parlasieau," Camille explained. "I was talking to my mother."

"To your mother?" Lily asked, looking doubtfully at the red glowing ball. 

"Yes. You see, the parlasieau has the ability of repeating whatever you say to it to the person of your choice. It is easier than a letter because one does not have to read, only listen. I also like it personally because it will only repeat itself to the person you instruct it to repeat to. Otherwise it won't say a word."

"Sounds convenient," said Lily. "For someone whose got something to hide."

"I do not understand you Lily Evans. I try to be kind to you, and yet you accuse me of wrongdoing, even when I am only talking to my own mother."

"Well, then why were you speaking in… in…?"

"In French," explained Camille. "My mother is French, of course, and she does not understand English so well, so I talk to her in French so she will understand." Lily nodded her head.

"I see." Perhaps this time she really didn't have any reason to be suspicious of Camille, although there was something about that parlasieau that she didn't like. And there was the incident that had happened in the library, but Lily didn't want to bring that up. Perhaps when Camille wasn't around, she'd have a quick peek at what those books were. 


	11. Chapter 11

__

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's notes: Well, this is the last chapter I'm putting up for right now. You can look for an update in ABOUT A WEEK… and if I don't update, get mad at me… write mean reviews, send threatening emails, try to murder me in my sleep with plastic spoons… no, on second thought, don't, or you'll never get to read more of the story… yeah, I'm crazy… what can ya do about it? =) 

Chapter 11

The first few weeks of December passed by quickly for Lily, since she was involved with schoolwork again, and their teachers had been keeping them busy with plenty to do. Before she knew it, the sign-up sheet for staying over Christmas break was posted in the common room. She was first to put her name on the list. There was no way she was going home. 

Several days later, she checked the list again. She only recognized two other names of Gryffindor fifth years; James Potter and Camille Honnete. She groaned inwardly. It was certainly going to be one interesting Christmas break.

After breakfast on the first day of break, everyone bid farewell to one another, and most everyone headed for the train, wheeling their trunks along behind them. 

Only about thirty students remained in the Great Hall, most of them younger, a few older, than Lily. There were very few other fifth years, aside from Camille and James. Among them was Caleb, who Lily hadn't talked to in ages. Also Davey Gudgeon, who was in Hufflepuff; his third year sister Chloe who was in Gryffindor also stayed, Veronica Simon, a friend of Annica's who was in Ravenclaw, and a greasy looking Slytherin by the name of Severus Snape. 

Dumbledore soon dismissed them back to their common rooms. Lily walked the corridors alone, hoping to avoid Camille and James. She succeeded by walking the long way, but nearly got scared to death by Peeves, who made a suit of armor nearly fall on top of her, all the while cackling maniacally. 

Back in the empty common room, she decided to do some reading. Settling in her favorite armchair, nearest to the fire, she opened her book and began to read. She hadn't read more than a page and a half, when two loud voices filled the room. She glanced quickly over the top of her book, and saw that it was James and Theodore Wood, who was Head Boy and in seventh year. They were loudly discussing quidditch moves. 

"Yeah, if we could just get Gudgeon better at blocking, we'd have a great advantage."

"She's so small though. She's even intimidated by the second years." 

"Oh, is that ten-o'clock already?" asked Theodore. "I'm supposed to go see Dumbledore about some Head Boy thing. I'll see you later."

"All right, Wood," said James. "Later." Lily heard James approaching her, and tried to be more interested in her book, hoping he'd leave her alone. It didn't work.

"Hi Lily," he said cautiously. She put down her book.

"Hi James." She felt like yelling at him, until she saw how tentative he looked, almost scared. He sat down on a chair near her, his expression never changing.

"So, how are you, Lily?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Oh, I'm all right."

"So, that was a pretty bad fall you took back at the quidditch game," Lily said. "Do you have any idea why you fell?" Mentally she slapped herself. _Idiot!_ She thought. She just couldn't let it go.

"You know, it's strange," said James. "It almost felt like someone was controlling me, like relaxing or something, and I think something was controlling my broom. But the strange thing is, it's really hard to remember. I think it's got Dumbledore worried a whole lot more than he lets on." Lily nodded.

"James, you used to spend a lot of time around Camille, at quidditch practice and stuff. Do you find anything about her, um, suspicious at all?"

"Well, I think she's pretty strange, and she kind of looks like a toad, but suspicious, nah. What reason would I have?"

"I still think she's the one causing the attacks." Lily couldn't believe she was telling James that. He chuckled. 

"I'm sorry, Lily, but that's absurd. Camille, knowing dark arts!" he snorted. "She might be smart, but she's much too much of a do-gooder to do that stuff." 

"Or maybe that's what she wants us to think," said Lily. James laughed again.

"I think, you worry too much Lily. You act like Camille's Voldemort or something."

"Maybe she is," said Lily, only half joking. She and James both laughed. Suddenly, she realized who she was talking to. "You didn't seem to have any problem taking her for your quidditch team," she said coldly.

"I wouldn't care if the girl acted like an ape." It was Lily's turn to snort. "She's good at quidditch. Besides, I wanted you to be our seeker, but no one else on the team would listen. Not as though it matters now anyway. There aren't any more matches." Lily was feeling slightly sick, being this friendly with James after what he'd done.

"Look, James. I've got to go do some cleaning in the dorm. I'll see you around." She stood to leave.

"See you, Lily. Don't let Camille near you. She might bite you in your sleep or something." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Sometimes you disturb me, Potter. The horror you may have caused me with that statement…" she shook her head. James laughed.

"See you at dinner, Lily." 

"Dinner? What about lunch?" It was only ten fifteen. 

"Oh, Wood and I are going… somewhere." He grinned. Lily shook her head.

"I don't want to know. See ya." She ascended the staircase and entered the dorm room. For once it was nice and empty. 

She flopped back on her bed, feeling angry with herself for having a friendly conversation with James, but at the same time pleased. Why on earth did she have to like him? At least there was one good thing about him though, he didn't think Camille was the greatest human being to ever attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which seemed to be the popular opinion. 

At lunch, Lily sat with Caleb. There was only one student table instead of four, because there were so few students. 

"So, what's new with you?" Lily asked.

"Nothing much," Caleb mumbled. One thing Lily couldn't stand about him was that he always mumbled. "I hear you've been having some problems this year."

"Problems? What have you heard?" asked Lily.

"Well, the other day I heard you tried to push Camille out the window."

"Who told you?" Lily demanded.

"You mean it's true?" 

"That's not the point, Caleb. Who told you?"

"Rae. She said she had to knock you over to make you stop. I figured it was just another one of her crazy stories."

"Nah, it's true," said Lily.

"What's wrong with Camille? She seems nice enough, and not too bad looking either." He glanced up the table to where she was sitting. Lily hit him on the arm disgustedly. 

"What?" he asked stupidly. 

"You make me sick," said Lily.

"Sure," muttered Caleb. "Well your face makes me sick," he mumbled under his breath. 

"I heard that!" Lily snapped.

"I was just joking," Caleb mumbled. Lily left him to his ham sandwich, which he seemed very interested in suddenly.

"How are you, Lily?" Lily glanced up to see who was talking to her. It was Davey Gudgeon, who was a little strange and goofy looking, but really friendly. 

"I'm fine Davey, you?" She smiled. He pushed his thick glasses back into place and grinned, displaying his crooked teeth.

"I'm good. Say, did you do your transfigurations essay yet?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I just finished it up," said Lily.

"Great. Do you think you could read mine sometime and see if it sounds okay?" Lily smiled. Davey wasn't the brightest at school, but he tried really hard.

"Sure, I'd be happy to help you out." 

"Thanks a lot, Lily." 

"No problem." Lily finished her meal in silence and headed back to the common room, feeling more like her old self than ever. She'd yelled at Caleb, which was typical, and agreed to help Davey with his homework, something she used to frequently.

Back at the dorm, Camille still wasn't around. Lily's eye caught on her stack of books from the restricted section of the library. Temptation got the better of her. She walked over to Camille's nightstand, and read the titles.

_Poisonous Potions, 1001 Most Deadly Elements of the Wizarding World, A History of the Dark Arts, Most Common Dark Arts Spells, _and _Avada Kedavra and Other Deadly Curses. _Lily picked up _Avada Kedavra and Other Deadly Curses _and flipped through its pages. Sticking in a page with the heading _Crucius and Other Torture Curses_, she found a piece of parchment with neatly written notes on it. She looked more closely. Every word of them was written in French. Camille certainly was smart about keeping things secretive! 

"Lily?" Camille's thick voice came from the doorway. Lily quickly slammed the book down and stepped away from Camille's nightstand.

"What were you doing?" Camille asked. 

"Oh, I was just, you know, checking out your library books. They looked kind of interesting, for someone interested in the Dark Arts, that is." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. 

"You had no business in my things," said Camille, all the while remaining perfectly calm. "But if you must know, I want to become an auror. That's why I have those books. I was studying."

"I see," said Lily, not knowing how to approach her confrontation from there.

"Well, I'm going to be going now. I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from my things." With that, Camille walked out the door.

"Liar," Lily muttered under her breath. Feeling quite curious, she slipped the piece of parchment out of the book and made a copy of it quickly with her wand. She returned the original, tucking the copy in her pocket. There had to be someone who could read French that would translate it for her. She was just walking away from Camille's section of the room when she spotted a small leather book, which looked a lot like a journal. Lily's eyes lit up with curiosity. She knew it was wrong, but she lifted up the book and flipped it open. She groaned. Once again, completely written in French. She thought about taking the journal as well and getting someone to translate it, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It just didn't seem like a decent thing to do, even if it was Camille.

***

That evening at dinner, Lily took a seat near the end of the table, by Chloe Gudgeon and some other third year she didn't recognize. James and Theodore walked in a few moments later, and, against Lily's wishes, they sat with her. 

"Well, we had an interesting day, wouldn't you say, Theo?" James inquired.

"Yeah, quite." Lily could tell they were trying to get her to ask what they did. She remained silent, to irritate them.

"Sure was exciting," said James. 

"Oh, I am just so dying to hear what exciting things happened to you today, oh great and wonderful James Potter," Lily cried dramatically.

"Well, if you insist." James grinned. "So we went to Hogsmeade, right?"

"How'd you do that?" Lily demanded. No one was supposed to be leaving the castle.

"Honestly, how little do you know about this school, anyway? There are only dozens of secret passages leading out of here, if you know the right places to look."

"Okay," said Lily. "Continue."

"So, we go to Hogsmeade, and we go to Zonko's, and they got this new item in. You spray it at someone, and say a phrase of your choice, and that's all they can say for the next four hours. It's really quite amusing. So, when we got back, we tried it out on Snape straight away, so now all he can say is 'So's your face.'" James paused for a minute to laugh.

"And that's not the best part. Just wait until you hear what comes next!" Theodore laughed.

"So, Snape's walking away from us, puzzled, and McGonagal comes walking down the corridor and says good day to him. So, of course he says so's your face. And then she started getting angry with him, and scolding him, and all he could do was keep saying it. He lost 10 house points and got a detention."

"But I think McGonagal got a bit suspicious after a while. I hope she doesn't figure out it was us," added Theodore. 

"Don't worry about it," James brushed his thoughts aside. Suddenly, Lily got what she thought must have been the most brilliant idea she'd had for a long time.

"Do you think we could try some of that stuff on Camille?" she asked. James stared at her a moment. He shrugged.

"Sure, why not? If you want to." 

"Great, after dinner then?"

"Just leave the planning to me, Lily. I'm an expert." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Sure, James."

"Hey, ever wonder who was really responsible for Dungbomb Spectacular '73?" 

"Ew, that was you? That was the most disgusting, repulsive…"

"Brilliant event of the century!" he finished.

"I have to agree with Lily," said Theodore. "That was kind of sick." 

"Well, the point is, I pulled it off. So getting Camille will be nothing." 

*** 

After dinner, James insisted that Lily go back to the boys' dorms with her, to prepare for their quest to torture Camille. Lily agreed reluctantly. Theodore wouldn't join them; he insisted it was too immature a thing for the head boy to participate in. The boys' dorm was utterly disgusting. There were clothes, books, old food, and just about everything imaginable, and some things not, scattered all over the floor. Lily could have sworn she saw part of a rubber chicken sticking out from under someone's bed. There was scarcely a place to stand. Besides that, it smelled of some sort of odd mix between sweaty socks and the potions classroom. She tried not to breathe as she waited for James to find whatever he was looking for.

"Ah, here we go," he said finally, holding up a piece of shiny, silvery fabric. "This, is my invisibility cloak." Lily raised her eyebrows, genuinely impressed.

"Wow, aren't those really rare?"

"Yeah, this one belonged to my dad. So anyway, this is how we're going to get Camille. I'll wait under the cloak, in the common room, and you pretend to be reading. When she comes along, say something to her to get her to stop for a moment. I'll spray her, and say… What do we want her to repeat?" 

"I look like a toad?" 

"Nah, not funny enough. It's got to be something more random."

"I'm an evil freak?" 

"No, that's not funny. How about the monkeys are coming. Can't you just see little miss monotone walking around the school telling everyone that?"

"Sure, I guess," replied Lily. 

"Right then, we're ready for action." 

***

Several minutes later, Lily was seated in the common room, pretending to be reading. She kept getting nervous, because she couldn't tell where James was. Every few minutes he'd stick out a random arm, hand, foot, or piece of hair to let her know where he was. After what seemed like ages, the portrait hole swung open. It was Camille! Lily immediately tried to stay focused. 

"Oh, hi there Camille," she said, putting down her book and standing up. 

"Hi, Lily," she said, glancing behind her suspiciously.

"So, how have you been?" Lily asked, trying to make conversation. Suddenly, she heard a spray, and a voice call "The monkeys are coming!" She tried as hard as she could not to laugh.

"Did you hear that?" Lily asked, trying to act surprised, expecting Camille to repeat it. But she was wrong. Camille turned around.

"Well, hello James," she said. Lily froze. James was still under the cloak. How did she know? "Trying to trick me, hm?"

"What are you talking about, Camille?" Lily played dumb. "I don't see James anywhere."

"You think I am a fool, Lily. I am smarter than you think I am. I know you were planning to make an idiot of me. But who is the idiot now, Lily Evans?" With that, Camille walked off to the dorm room, leaving James and Lily both in a state of complete shock.

"How in the world…?" asked Lily, as James slid off his cloak. "She must be powerful if she can see through your cloak."

"Nah, I don't think that's it at all. I'd bet you someone tipped her off about it and she faked knowing. I'll bet she's heard me talk about my cloak before. Sirius and I talk a lot at quidditch practices."

"I don't know," said Lily. "But something is definitely suspicious about her."

"Maybe," agreed James. "But I think you jump to conclusions." 

"Well, one thing is really strange. How did she prevent the spray from working?"

"Ah, it's only joke store stuff, weak really. If you know it's coming ahead of time, you can do a simple little charm to prevent it from working. Remus does it all the time."


End file.
